Cabinet door latch



Jan. 5, 1960 E. D. EVENSON CABINET DOOR LATCH Filed June 27, 1958 Everett D. E vehson zNr/ENTOR.

United States Patent CABINET DODR LATCH Everett D. Evenson, Brainerd, Minn.

Application June 27, 1958, Serial No. 745,135

v Claims. (Cl. 292-18) The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in closure fasteners, generally speaking, but has reference in particular to a novel and improved latch construction which will facilitate opening and closing swinging doors, for example, `doors used on kitchen cabinets and the like.

Many and varied forms of catches, fasteners, and latches have been offered by others for use on and in connection with hingedly mounted swinging cabinet doors. As having a general bearing on the instant invention and for purposes of classification both structurally and functionally a typical prior art construction is that seen in the Hall Patent 1,931,695 of October 24, 1933. This patent is mentioned here because of the fact that it has to do with a cylinder which is open at one end and closed at the other end. A clip is mounted in the cylinder, said clip having outwardly extending spring catch arms which are adjustably mounted within the cylinder. The free ends of the arms are fashioned for cooperation with a headed end on a stem or shank of a screw or the like carried by the swinging cabinet door.

The present invention pertains to a construction in which improved adaptations are embodied providing, it is believed, a novel contribution to the art which will appeal to and be unhesitatingly endorsed by manufacturers and hardware retailers and will be likely to meet with widespread adoption and use by builders and home- V owners.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention a casing is provided to house the mechanism. The casing is aflxed to the bottom of the cabinet shelf in proper alignment with a headed screw or similar fastener on the door so that the two components cooperate properly to fasten and release the door. T-he mechanism housed in the casing is quite simple. That is to say, it is characterized by a pair of coplanar companion duplicate latch dogs. These dogs are pivotally mounted on one wall of the casing and are shouldered to accommodate tion of a cabinet, the door, the headed retainer on the door and the improved latch on the shelf in the cabinet. Fig. 2 is a view on a similar scale with a portion of the cabinet broken away to show the cooperation of the headed retainer with the latch.

Fig. 3 is a view on a larger scale and in section and in elevation showing the casing and the mechanism or components therein and how they are constructed. and cooperate, the section being on the plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

' Fig. 4 is a view taken centrally through the construction seen in Fig. 3.

' Fig. 5 is a view on a smaller scale and similar to Fig. 3 and showing the latches free of engagement with the headed retainer and illustrating the point that the resilient arms are constantly in cooperating contact with the side walls of the casing.

By way of introduction to the description of the details it is to be pointed out that the expression cabinet and also the expression door is used advisedly. Any equivalent enclosure and any suitable closure is properly herein under consideration. That is to say, the invention is not in the structure on which the latch is mounted but rather in the latch construction itself. In any event and in the drawings the cabinet is denoted by the numeral 6 and the compartment space at 8, the door at 10, the door being hinged at 12 and the shelf on the interior of the compartment being denoted at 14. The retainer is a simple expedient and is denoted at 16 and comprises a shank 18 having a screw-threaded portion 20 screwed into the door at the desired point and terminating in a balllike head 22 provided with a screw-driver slot or kerf 24. The casing is denoted generally by the numeral 24 and it is here shown as of general rectangular box-like form and as seen in Fig. 4 it may comprise a base plate 26 having ears 28 at the ends thereof screwed or otherwise fastened in place at 30. The shell or body portion conforms with the base plate and is denoted at 32 and has longitudinal side walls 34, a front wall 36 and a rear wall 38. The rear wall is provided with an opening and on the inside thereof there is a nut 40 to accommodate the threaded stem 42 on an adjusting screw. The headed end 44 is provided with a screw-driver kerf 46. The inner endiportion of this screw is swivelly connected at 48 to a generally flat or straight bight portion 50 on a generally V-shaped spring 52. The arms or limbs 54 of the spring are disposed in outwardly divergent relationship and the free end portions 56 are in constant yieldable but slidable contact with the interior surfaces of the side walls 34. The median portions of the limbs are engageable with rounded corner portions 58 on the companion duplicate latch dogs 60. These latch dogs are properly paired and mated and have pivoted end portions 62 located on diametrically opposite sides of an opening 64 in the front wall 36. The opposed or adjacentv edges or surfaces of the latch dogs are provided with shoulders 66 to accommodate the ball head 22 on the aforementioned retainer ,18.

The casing or housing 18 may be made of plastic or metal preferably plastic. The size will of course vary. The spring is preferably of light proper gauge metal. The adjusting screw for the spring is preferably metal and when the screw moves inward the spring moves forward. This cooperation of the parts tightens the tension of the limbs on the rounded or cam-like corner portions of the pivoted latch dogs.

Use of the invention will facilitate the closing of cabinet doors and, in fact, many other types of doors that would be regarded as equivalents of each other. Adjustment of the screw for proper tension is also a featured improvement of the over-all catch. Novelty is also predicated on the manner in which the catch will assist when the door has become warped to the extent that it would not be kept securely closed by currently known and used catches. Doors that are straight when tted and installed not infrequently become warped, and consequently most catches then fail to perform their intended function. However, and with this novel catch, doors may be properly closed by a simple adjustment of the adjusting screw which results in creating the desired tension 0r force and virtually insures reliable and proper closing results. In fact, it is the combination of the expedients, that is, the adjustable spring and the shouldered pivotally mounted dogs operating in proper relationship in the casing provided therefor, which results in reliable installation and functioning results.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the invention as claimed.

ln connection with the above it is to be pointed out, for example, that the casing need not necessarily be aixed to the bottom of the cabinet shelf inasmuch as it could also be applied, obviously, to the top of the shelf or at any other practical or convenient location. In addition the nut 40 heretofore mentioned may be an integrated part of the casing or, if preferred, manufactured as a separate piece to be attached to the casing.

Regardless or" the material used in constructing the components one of the features of the construction is quietness in operation. Plastic parts, if and when used, may insure an even more silent operation.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A latch construction for retaining a swinging door in a closed position relative to the open front of the cornpartment in a cabinet or the like comprising a casing, a generally V-shaped spring adjustably mounted in said casing and having a pair of outwardly diverging limbs, a pair of pivotally mounted latch dogs also conned for operation in said casing and having swingable end portions situated in cooperating positions between the respective limbs of said spring, said spring being provided with a generally at bight portion, the free ends of said limbs being in constant yieldable but shiftable contact with the interior surfaces of opposed parallel side walls of said casing.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein each latch dog has a rounded corner portion for cooperation with a median portion of the cooperating limb, the opposed adjacent edges of respective latches being provided with shoulders, said shoulders being releasably cooperable with a head on a retainer adapted to be carried by the door.

3. A door fastener for use in a cabinet comprising a casing having front and rear walls, said front wall prod vided with an opening, said rear wall provided with an adjustable screw extending into the casing, a generally V-shaped spring operatively mounted in said casing and having a pair of limbs connected by a bight portion, said bight portion being connected with the inner end of said screw, a pair of shouldered latch dogs pivotally mounted in said casing adjacent said opening in the front wall and having inwardly disposed rounded corner portions cooperating with median portions ofthe limbs of said spring.

4. A door fastener for use in a cabinet or an equivalent construction having a hingedly mounted door with the door provided on its interior with a retainer having a balltype retaining head, a casing adapted to be mounted in the cabinet, said casing having end walls and side walls, there being an outer end wall provided with an opening in alignment with the aforementioned retainer so that when the door is closed the retainer and ball head thereon pass into the interior of the casing by way of the opening in said end wall, a pair of coplanar latch dogs having outer ends pivotally mounted in said casing with said pivoted ends located on diametrically opposite sides of said opening, said latch dogs having inner opposed edges provided with shoulders cooperable with the head on said retainer, an adjusting screw mounted in the other end wall of the casing and extending into the interior of the casing, a spring having a median portion connected to said adjusting screw and limb portions in constant sliding contact with interior surfaces of the side walls of said casing, said limbs being disposed in outwardly divergent relationship and median portions thereof having sliding and cooperating contact with adjacent surface portions of the latch dogs.

5. The structure dened in claim 4 and wherein the spring is of generally V-shaped form having its bight portion joined to said screw, the portions of the dogs engaging said limbs being rounded and providing the desired camming coaction between the limbs and dogs in a manner to facilitate expeditious tensioning of the springs and consequent improved gripping action of said latch dogs.

References Cited in the tile of this patent 

